1^st August 2012

The Why of the Buy

I don't know what the Christmas themes and decorations were like in your city ,council area or shopping centre last year, but in our CBD they were big and loud but the content of Christmas was about zero. Hardly a suggestion of baby Jesus even. All season but no reason. Walk down the mall and it was all buy but no why. All Cashmas no Christmas!
Well now is the time to do something about it for this -or maybe next Christmas. Lets get on to our Councils, mall and shopping management people and warmly suggest something that carries the meaning of it all as best as can be done in symbol and sign. We might even get together with some imaginative designers and offer ideas and drafts.
I doubt if there would be strong objection in most cases but there could be something like; Multiculturalism, we don't want to offend others who don't believe in the origin of Christmas. Really? Who are these offendees anyway? My guess is they are only a near zero handful of wizened atheists on a ‘crusade' ,or maybe some ex-church goers once hurt now in positions of bureaucratic power. Or just folk who haven't really thought about it. Overseas tourists are on the look-out for the indicators of our beliefs and distinctive that have sourced and enriched our culture. Can you imagine the Chinese Communist Party banning decorations in Beijing's malls to the year of the rat because it might offend delicate Aussie lady tourists, who in reality have come to China anyway to taste a bit of their unique culture? And the fact is, Christmas and Christ is the fact of the matter!
Australia post usually issue stamps depicting a Christmas theme, anyway. And the highest authority in our Commonwealth, the Queen, whose head is on our coins, whose office authorises our laws and institutions of enforcement declared in her Christmas message last year that Christ is Lord. That should settle the multicultural tease.
The civic sponsored decorations are actually ours-we are the civic! And they say something. They can legitimately carry something of a declaration of the Gospel-at least a hint that can stir some thinking of the sweetest , strongest, strangest most beautiful report the world has ever heard! Lets get with appropriate management bodies and contribute gently yet confidently on this simple yet significant level while we have a head start time-wise. And why not let Catalyst know how you get on!

 

Ian Clarkson (First published in ACCatalyst  June 2012)